Chris Gotterup Wins the John Deere Classic With a Sunday 62 as Ben Kohles Finds the Water

Chris Gotterup did his part on Sunday, then went to the practice range and waited. More than an hour later, a tugged 8-iron on the 18th hole settled it, and Gotterup was in tears on the range.

Gotterup started the final round five shots off the lead, tied for 12th, and shot a bogey-free 9-under 62 at TPC Deere Run to win the John Deere Classic at 20-under 264. Max Homa (64) finished alone in second at 19 under. Ben Kohles, who had pulled level with Gotterup late, found the pond on the final hole and made double bogey, dropping into a tie for third at 18 under with 54-hole co-leaders Lucas Glover and Lee Hodges, who each shot 69.

It is Gotterup's fifth PGA TOUR title, his third of 2026 after the Sony Open and the WM Phoenix Open, and his fourth in the last 12 months.

A Five-Shot Comeback From an Hour Ahead

Gotterup teed off about an hour in front of the leaders with nine players between him and the top of the board, which is exactly the kind of position that requires a number, not a nice round. He went and got one.

He made four birdies over his first five holes, a stretch that included a 344-yard drive and a gap wedge to inside 5 feet at the par-4 fourth, and he never gave a shot back. The last of his birdies came at the par-5 17th, where he rolled in a birdie putt of about 15 feet to reach 20 under. Then there was nothing left to do but post it and wait.

The numbers back up how complete it was. Per the PGA TOUR, Gotterup gained 5.413 strokes off the tee on Sunday, the most in the field, and needed only 23 putts, 13 of them one-putts. His 62 was four shots better than anything else he shot all week, and it tied Sepp Straka's 2023 finish as the lowest closing round by a John Deere champion.

Kohles and the 18th

For most of the afternoon, this looked like Kohles' day. Playing in the final group in his 120th TOUR start, Kohles eagled the second hole and played his first eight holes in 5 under. A birdie at 16 tied Gotterup at 20 under, and a 15-foot birdie try on 17 that would have taken the outright lead slid by.

Then came the 18th. Kohles split the fairway, then worried that a full 8-iron might fly the green and tried to hit a three-quarter punch instead. It came off left, bounced off a hill and rolled into the water.

"Yeah, just tugged it a little, and obviously ended up in the water," Kohles said, per the AP.

After the penalty drop, a sprinkler head in his stance gave Kohles relief onto the fringe, and Kohles putted from there. The par putt to force a playoff missed on the right side and stopped just inside 3 feet. The double bogey meant a 68 and a tie for third, a swing the AP put at $316,800 compared to a share of second.

"Tough way to finish, especially how I played all day," Kohles said. It was the third time Kohles has played in a Sunday final group on TOUR without winning, after a playoff loss at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson two years ago.

Homa's Best in Years

Lost in the drama was a genuine Max Homa resurgence. Homa birdied four straight holes on the back nine, shot 64 and finished alone in second, his best TOUR result in more than three years. A former Ryder Cup player who missed the postseason last year and dropped outside the top 100 in the world, Homa climbed to No. 49 in the FedExCup with the week.

Glover and Hodges could not keep pace after promising starts. Glover birdied the second and third holes and then made just one more birdie the rest of the way, while Hodges matched his 69. Mac Meissner (64), Doug Ghim (68) and Jackson Suber (69) tied for sixth at 17 under, and 50-year-old Zach Johnson closed with 68 to tie for ninth. NCAA champion Preston Stout shot 69 to finish tied for 15th.

Family Business

Gotterup's regular caddie was away this week, so his brother Patrick carried the bag, as he had on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 and during Gotterup's amateur days.

"To have Patrick out here with me ... it's just so awesome," Gotterup said, per the AP.

The event has history for him, too. Gotterup played here on a sponsor exemption in 2022, his fifth start as a pro, and tied for fourth. "I really like this tournament. They've been super nice to me," Gotterup said.

The Stakes Going Forward

The win was worth $1,584,000 and 500 FedExCup points, and it lifted Gotterup to sixth in the FedExCup standings. The AP had him moving to No. 7 in the world. He and Matt Fitzpatrick are now the only three-time winners on TOUR this season.

Next up is a title defense at the Genesis Scottish Open, where Gotterup held off Rory McIlroy a year ago. Brian Campbell, who won here last year, now passes the John Deere title to a player who looks less like a breakout story and more like one of the best in the game in 2026.

Relive the week in our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps. Final scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's final-round recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap, Gotterup feature, Round 3 preview and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, GolfNewsNet. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.